The first two loads of Sicilian citrus fruit under the 'People of Sicily' brand (around 42 tons) have been shipped to Poland. The business network established after the internationalisation mission promoted by Distretto Agrumi di Sicilia and Istituto del Commercio Estero between late 2016 and 2017, is in charge of export operations thanks to an agreement signed with Polish retail chain Biedronka.
Federica Argentati at Fruit Logistica 2018
"This is great news for the Sicilian agricultural sector and it proves how unity is strength, especially when it comes to foreign markets. The Distretto's mission is not to commercialise but to build opportunities for its partner businesses by favouring meetings and promoting aggregation," explains Federica Argentati, President of Distretto Agrumi di Sicilia.
Favouring the creation of the 'People of Scility' business network and allowing it to use the brand created by the Distretto fr the Expo 2015 campaign proves just how activities were successful. Businesses who took part in the Polish mission must also be praised as they autonomously concluded agreements that have led to the start of export operations.
The following POs are part of 'People of Sicily': Agrisicilia, Bella Rossa, Le Buone Terre, Rosaria, Rossa di Sicilia and Alba Lemon Bio (covering a total area of 6,000 hectares, 1,800 of which are PGI, PDO and organic) all members of Distretto Agrumi di Sicilia.
"This first load is the proof that together we can reach new important goals and markets that seemed unreachable. The support of the Distretto has been pivotal and we are hoping other internationalisation missions will be organised for other markets as well," added Franco Tumale, President of the People of Sicily network and councillor of Distretto Agrumi di Sicilia.